Back in 2009, actress Maria Conchita Alonso wrote an open letter to Sean Penn, who she had worked with in the 1988 film Colors. Maria is Cuban-American (but she was raised in Venezuela), and she hated that Sean Penn was (is?) so chummy with Hugo Chavez, and she said so. Sean never bothered to respond, at least not that I remember. Anyway, Page Six had an interesting little update on the now on-going war between Penn and Alonso:

Sean Penn and Cuban actress Maria Conchita Alonso were once Hollywood co-stars — but they had an angry bust-up at LAX, with Alonso branding Penn a “communist [bleep]hole” after he called her a “pig” in front of a stunned crowd.

It started when Alonso picked up her mother from a Miami flight and spotted Penn in an American Airlines lost luggage area Sunday.

Alonso, born in Cuba and raised in Venezuela, says her “heart stopped” when she saw the actor, to whom she’d written an open letter last year to say she was “appalled” by his public support of Hugo Chavez.

She told Page Six: “I was very calm. I said, ‘I would like to talk to you.’ He said, ‘I have nothing to say to you . . . You have been saying a lot of things about me in the press.’ I said, ‘How can you defend Chavez?’ ”

The argument escalated from there. Alonso relates: “I said, ‘You are a communist, Sean Penn.’ He said, ‘You are a pig!’ So I said, ‘And you are a communist [bleep]hole! Is it great to live the way you do as a communist?’ I went back to my mother, and he started yelling at us,” Alonso told us. “I yelled back, ‘Communist [bleep]hole!’ Nearly 60 people were watching, shocked. My mother wanted to clap, but she couldn’t because she was in a wheelchair and she had a small dog in her lap.”

Penn, traveling from Haiti, told us: “I only knew that a hostile woman was nonsensically berating me. I didn’t realize it was that actress. I think I worked with her once. But she looks really different. She was uninformed and impolite to all the other passengers.” The two starred in the 1988 film “Colors,” as lovers on different sides of the gang war in Los Angeles.

Alonso, who first recounted the story to Steve Malzberg on Washington, DC, radio station WMAL, added, “I do apologize for calling Sean Penn a [bleep]hole. He is an intelligent man . . . But if someone calls me a pig, I am not going to turn the other cheek. But I don’t regret calling him a communist.”

I should use “bleep-hole” as an insult more often. It’s funnier than “a–hole”. Anyway, it sounds like they both behaved badly, and I hate to admit it, but Alonso sounds like the instigator and Sean sounds like he was just defending himself from a woman who was berating him. Not that she didn’t have a point, and not that she doesn’t have a right to speak her mind. But Sean has a right to defend himself too, although I think his insults missed the mark by calling her a “pig” (ugh) and mentioning that she doesn’t look the same as she used to – because, really, neither does he, and mentioning her looks is like responding to a political criticism with “Well, you’re FAT.” Anyway, that’s America. This is all a convoluted exercise in free speech.

By the way, I kind of hate how “communist” has come back into fashion as a go-to insult. I feel the same way about labeling people “socialists” or “fascists” – because more often than not, the people that you’re labeling communists, socialist or fascists aren’t really any of those things. They just have a different point of view, and they’re seriously nothing like the true communists, socialists and fascists. Also: stop comparing everything to Nazism too. People really have no sense of history anymore.

I’m not going to get into American or Cuban politics, because honestly, I’m quite jaded and indifferent toward it now, It’s a losing battle if your a person with no power or influence and a different ethnic and social background but to add to your comment she is aging very beautifully, I think she looks great and Sean Penn looks like a piece of shyte warmed over twice.

Never understand how being a communist is a bad thing. The word’s been dirtied by these “communist” states in no way resemble marxist communism. Every time I’ve studied the whole communism vs. capitalism thing I can never fathom how everybody being equal and contributing to society is some great evil opposed to a few people being really rich and a lot of people being poor and oppressed. I’m not saying that “communism” has as ever worked and not been abused, but that was never communism. Anyway, I don’t like to get political, but it’s just something that I never understand. Thank god for capitalism, I heard communism often leads to a stagnant economy.

Communism is a “bad thing” because it exists under the rule of force, not the rule of law. You are forced to contribute, forced into servitude of the State and general welfare. In the history of mankind there has never been a “fair” system of government. We will always find ways to mitigate government, the initiation of force and mob rule. Shoot, this is really not the point of the post.

Chavez is the left wing Pinochet. The heavy media controls in place do not report on the hundreds missing under the Chavez state, only a few trickles of the torture of dissidents comes out of Venezuela.

Think this is American propaganda? Look up Ricardo Guanipa. Chavez openly supports FARC as well.

Absolutely!! Ijust loooove these champagne communists like Jane Fonda, Sean Penn and others who are just shown by these dictators the touristy places and they don’t speak to the people that have to live in these totalitarian regimes. I am Cuban and I can tell you first hand anything you want to know about Communism and how Cubans have to live with a pound of meat a month, no food, no money and no resources, while the rest of the world can enjoy the hotels in Varadero as tourists and Cubans are not even allowed in these hotels to eat. Of course, these things do not get publicized. The government puts out the info they want the world to believe. Have Sean Penn live in Cuba and see if he would enjoy the privileges his so called Hollywood life and salary afford him.

Maybe the IDEA of everyone being equal and having equal seems fair and flowery. But that doesn’t mean it has ever happened. Nor will it. Look at every country that has tried it. Failure. Marxism? Look at North Korea. It just doesn’t work. Period. In this country everyone has equal opportunity. Not everyone works as hard as everyone else. Therefore their results will not equal those who work harder. Your life is what you make it. No one should be held responsible for making someone’s life equal to their own. I work for myself and my family. I do not, nor will I ever, work to help someone who refuses to make the same effort.

Honestly, it is very easy for me to sit here (with apparently enough leisure time to not only view but comment on celeb gossip sites) and cast judgement upon a political system that (in hindsight (always 20/20)) failed. But most intelligent Americans will admit that, despite all the good it brought for many years, capitalism is now failing America. Historians will look back upon our political and economic systems as critically as we look upon the failed experiments with communism.
For a woman from Cuba, communism is a bad thing. But one man’s communist/fascist/terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The ideals of equality and fairness are not bad; history suggests, however, that they are incompatible with human nature.

My opinion about capitalism failing is because our government (both sides of the aisle quite frankly) are placing too many restrictions and their spending is so out of control. They are trying to control the market rather than allow it to do its job. Therein lies the failure. As an example, China’s market is capitalist and they are doing much better. Our politicians are the problem. Not capitalism.

You might point the finger at the US and say look capitalism is failing, yet countries such as England, and other countries in europe that tend to be more welfare based, cultivate high taxes, etc, are also failing.

@ Miranda – you have a point, but China treats its workers horribly. Safety regulations and labour laws are vital to protect people. (too much red tape is bad too – there’s a balance).

The issue in America is crony capitalism and favouritism. US politicians are bought because of the weird lobby laws that allow some really undue influence by fringe groups and corporations with money.

I agree that there’s no perfect system though. I think capitalism is far better than communism, but only if human rights and the rights of workers are protected. Hopefully China will develop these – at the moment they’re very Victorian (also a productive time for capitalism, btw!).

Just my two cents of what’s messing with the system. Now, back to the gossip! (Oh and Sean Penn is a douchecanoe.)

Your choice on using China as a demonstration on capitalism succeeding is flawed. Yes, we have regulations, but it’s so that 1) we don’t screw up our environment the way that China is, and 2) we don’t abuse the workers the way that China is.

Their economy is booming but the gap between the wealthy and the poor is staggeringly wide and only growing wider…much like the US. Also, China keeps the Yuan exceptionally low, which brings more manufacturing jobs their way, thereby perpetuating the slave wages that they are being paid in order to futilely chase after the dream of financial success.

Lastly, you have to remember that this is China. You will only be a success if the government allows you to.

If communism is so great, why are the people in Cuba, North Korea, Russia, China, Venezuela starving to death? Why are those people shot dead for simply saying they don’t like what their leaders are doing? They are forced to live in the conditions they do. The government takes all their money and keeps it for themselves giving nothing back to their people, not even food and in some cases no electricity or running water. They have absolutely no freedom and no human rights. Why do you think people from those countries escape to come here? They’re sick of living in huts with dirt floors and squalor and having no say in how they live their own lives. You don’t know why communism is so bad?? Go live in one of those countries for one year – hell, one month – and let’s see what you think of it then.

I come from Ex-Yugoslavia country. We had communism here for almost 50 years. Now we have democracy. You will still hear more than 50 % of people reminiscing how they lived better during communism. Democracy, while it did bring some personal liberties, also brought a lot of poverty and frustration. I am convinced there is no political system that works well.
Usually communism is not enforced right, but you can not argue with the idea of it being great, Utopian even.

I honestly think people around to world is starving to death. Even Usa with this crisis. and honestly, Russia is not communist. Is just a corrupt government, thats why the population wants Putin out of government.
Anyway,.. the only country is really starving to death is North Corea, and we only let that dictatorship work because they have nuclear bombs.

honestly if you watched SICKO you see that Cuba has more care about their population than USA (even Guantanamo has more healthy care than USA)!. I went that once(Cuba), the problem there isnt freedom of speech which is against human rights. but some people just prefer have a nice education and medical care than have freedom. What can we do…

Honestly Chavez is no different from the previous presidents. Venezuela has a lot of oil, is a member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and shouldnt be so poor country. the previous presidents didnt care about the poor population, only the high-class people. They should had a plan of distributorship of the money, you know, like invest on education. Thats the only way a country can develop. I dont really care about Chavez, but was in his goverment that they eliminated eliminated illiteracy and it is reconized by UN. Like I said, I dont care about Chavez, I only care is he did something about poor people that none of previous presidents did before. He is no different. They are rich country with oil, but they never cared about education.
I dont really think Sean Penn knows what dictatorship is… I think he should study more about lack of speech and dictatorship in Latin America at 60′ and 70′.

Those countries are not truly communist states. The system is corrupted. My original point was basically that the word communism is thrown around, and dirtied by these states who have terrible records with human rights, poverty etc. but that they are not true communist states. It’s not fair to say that communism=suffering etc. because a communist state has never been achieved.

Theoretically Communism is not evil; it is simply unrealistic and shockingly ignorant of human nature. In reality, every single government that has espoused Communism has oppressed its own citizens. Living in the PRC for six years made me eternally grateful for the civil liberties we enjoy in the US and other Western democracies. A more fitting insult for entertainers like Sean Penn who lavish praise on dictators is “d*uchebag.”

Just because your a celebrity doesn’t mean your smart. Obviously Penn doesn’t have all the facts regarding Mr. Chavez. Penn has always had an over-inflated ego when it comes to his so called political views.

I think she, of all people, should be entitled to using the “communist” insult in a disparaging manner, given her personal history. Also, Sean Penn is a ridiculously pompous ass, in my opinion. Too bad he and ScarJo didn’t stay together- they could have snooted it up in mutual douchebaggery. I would honestly pay to watch him get punched, I find his loud-mouthed opinions that midguided and grating. Clearly, I’ve got a pretty strong opinion of him, hahaha.

Chavez is a dictatorial thug. He’s not really a communist, or a libertarian or a free-market supporter. He wants power and wealth for himself and his supporters, simple as that. In the end, that’s the ideology: Power.

It is incredible to me that a man who gets paid as much as Sean Penn does to put on makeup and pretend in front of a camera has the nerve to publicly support what he must think is Chavez’ “different” or “unique” political regime. How blind and misguided can he be? Chavez gives him the movie studio tour, all fakey happy and positive of course, and Penn goes for it because he wants to be some kind of counter-culture icon? Anyone else with half his IQ and an internet/cable subscription would be able to identify Chavez as the ruthless dictator that he is. ScarJo (yeah let’s irritate her some more) actually dated this mess, which makes me really wonder about her.

I think it’s beyond safe to call Penn a commie — because he cavorts with them, for Chrissakes. I really can’t stand that smug bastard: he enjoys all the financial success and fame afforded to him by American audiences and yet probably hates living in this country, like some other bleep-holes — Madonna, Gwynnie, Johnny Depp. You can tell that he’s disgusted with America. Slobbering all over a dictator thug like Chavez is all the evidence I need to firmly and certainly call him what he is: a Communist.

i only remember seeing her in moscow on the hudson in which robin williams feels her up in the tub and refers to her breasts as pork chops…more repulsed i could not have been…an airport is not the place to accost someone on their political views..it should have been obvious that he did not care to engage in debate with her when he did not respond to her letter…anyone approached thusly would have tried to get rid of her. why is it so important to her to change his vp? express your own and let the chips fall porkchop

There is a fine line of private property that separates socialism and communism. If you do some investigating, you will find that some of Obama’s czars have a history in the American communist party, like Van Jones. The fact that we are on step 5 of the Cloward & Piven plan to overwhelm the system to do away with Capitalism should make anyone want to find out why we have begun to call people csars.

@kirstipistol – Actually, the neo-cons accused Van Jones of being connected with a Marxist group during the 1990s (Marxism is diff from Communism). He was resigned back in 2009 as the Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which has NOTHING to do with communism, Marxism, socialism, fascism, whatever. It’s not even a political position.

I dunno who else ur accusing of being a communist in Obama’s administration, since u don’t mention any other names.

Anyhoo, Obama is not a communist, Marxist, socialist, fascist, whatever. Just cuz some rightwing media person says so doesn’t make it true.

@kristipistol – Actually, Glenn Beck accused Van Jones of being in the “Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement” or STORM, not the American Communist Party, which was a Marxist org. which Jones is not a part of anymore.

This is from PolitiFact:

“But Beck has repeatedly said Jones is a communist. Present tense. Although we could not find a comment in which Jones explicitly said why he is no longer one, we found ample evidence that he now believes capitalism is the best force for the social change he is seeking. So there’s truth to Beck’s claim in that Jones was a communist, but it’s apparent he isn’t any longer, as Beck suggests. So we find the claim BARELY TRUE. ”

So by the time Van Jones was hired as a green energy advisor, he wasn’t a communist. Also, it’s not a communist position.

He even said in his 2008 book that green energy should go hand in hand with capitalism as that is the real solution to get green energy to come to the forefront:

“Only the business community has the requisite skills, experience, and capital to meet that need. On that score, neither the government nor the nonprofit and voluntary sectors can compete, not even remotely.

“So in the end, our success and survival as a species are largely and directly tied to the new eco-entrepreneurs — and the success and survival of their enterprises. Since almost all of the needed eco-technologies are likely to come from the private sector, civic leaders and voters should do all that can be done to help green business leaders succeed”

That opinion article link u posted is just that, an opinion. The writer’s comments are erroneous too. He said that Obamacare is about free healthcare. It isn’t free. You have to pay PRIVATE insurance CORPORATIONS for your insurance under his program.

He says Obama is raising taxes on small business owners, when that’s not true either. Actually Obama has been trying for 3 yrs to pass tax cuts on small business owners, give them loan guarantees, and tax credits for hiring people, esp. veterans.

He says that Obama gave out bailouts. Actually, Bush did the TARP bailout, not Obama. He says the stimulus went to political donors, ACORN, & unions. Actually, they went to state govts to extend job employment for firefighters, police, paramedics, nurses, teachers, etc. Also, it went to governors like TX’s Rick Perry (which he used to pay off his own terrible state budget debts instead of jobs) and LA’s governor, who pretended it was money he came up with himself.

I could go on but your author’s opinion essay is erroneous and uses Glenn Beck as a source. Overall, it’s very rightwing propaganda stuff.

sean penn is not a smart man who isn’t aware of enough to be a marxist or a communist to be honest. He’s an uninformed person who is arrogant and wants desperately to be taken seriously outside of acting. This setup is the reason he inserts himself into situations where he ends up being other people’s pawn, because the only people willing to engage him outside of acting are people who know how to exploit him(waves at Chavez)

Well by all accounts it seems that he is and always been an a-hole. So that isn’t news. And guess what Sean you don’t look the same as you looked in 1988 either. But you know what sometimes it is just better to keep on going rather than trying to speak to someone, especially someone who is as egotistical as Sean Penn. My god could you imagine the ego in the room when he and Madonna were married? It must have suffocating! He has never been a nice guy and more than likely never will be but he can sure act.

Oh please, if you do any research on Sean Penn you will see that he is nothing less than a humanitarian. Ignorance is bliss to bash someone who has dedicated his life to ending senseless oil wars and to help the public know facts on the “axis of evil” campaign. What’s her name seems pretty uneducated.

If Sean Penn were so “informed” then how does one explain how this very “humanitarian” man supports a government who is known as one of the least “humanitarian” there is in this world? Either he’s not what he claims to be, or he is extremely uninformed about Chavez and other leaders just like him. “What’s her name” seems very informed about what is going on.

You are right. He may be gross in many ways but he does care about human rights.
This thread shows just how misinformed so many people are on communism and fascism. There has never been a true communist state. Never. Too many people knee jerk when they hear the word but have no understanding of the concept. Read Marx, history and political theory…

Maria has no right to approach him and berate him for his views. None. He is not a friend, family member or anyone to her. He may be misguided but it’s his business. She could have spoken to him privately but she is using him for attention.

Please. Sean Penn cares about human rights? Wow. Are you naive. Spicoli only cares about human rights when it makes him look good—in his mind’s eye. He’s a tool. Literally. A propaganda tool for Hugo Chavez. (Does Venezuela have freedom of the press? Why, no, they don’t. Are there free and fair elections in Venezuela? Why, no, there are not. Do people regularly get thrown in jail for disagreeing with Hugo? Why, yes, yes they do.) A propaganda tool for Saddam Hussein (remember his pre-invasion trip to Iraq, “just to understand the situation”?). A propaganda tool for The Castro Brothers. And now he’s trying to rebuild Haiti—yet, curiously enough, has anyone audited his charity there? From what I’ve seen he’s constructed a tent city, and not much more. Have they actually counted the number of houses he’s supposedly built with his two precious hands?

He doesn’t care about the people he’s so desperately trying to save. He’s trying to make himself look good. He doesn’t want to be an actor, he wants to be more. Sad thing is, despite his good intentions, he’s not intelligent enough to know whom he should avoid. He’s only succeeded in propping up the abusers of human rights.

You can care about something and be misguided at the same time. You can be a scumbag in every facet of life but be passionate about somethng good. Just because he is an actor doesn’t mean he can’t have opinions on politics and global affairs. Sean can be wrong in calling her a pig and she was wrong to call him out in a public airport. I would be grouchy and bloody out of sorts at the end of a long flight too. Plus we
all know Sean Penn is in a perpetual state of irascibility.

Maria has a right to her feelings but should have approached him and had an intelligent private conversation. It would have been more effective.

You seem pretty uneducated as well. Here is something I can tell you about Sean Penn. He throws public temper tantrums when people photograph him or treat him like a celebrity. But he has no problem using his celebrity to push his own political point of view. He is an actor. He is no more informed or authorized to speak publicly about any issue than anyone who has the ability to read or travel. The arrogance of Hollywood strikes again. And if you had grown up under a dictator like Chavez, you might get pretty emotional if some priveledged a-hole former co-star of yours was chumming it up with the guy. Its a little more personal to her than to you or me.

Hey Sean, you look “different” from the way you did in 1988, too. I guess that’s his idea of a subtle insult. If Sean Penn moved to Venezuela and gave away all his money and worldly goods to those ppor people he cares so much about, I may respect that a little. But as it is he’s just another extremely rich westerner enjoying all of the benefits of living in a capitalist country while at the same time whining about how oppressive and awful it is. Put your money where your mouth is, Sean, or shut up.

I happen to agree. Telling other people how to live while not living it yourself is hypocritical. Especially his level of fame and money.
However, a lot of the countries that end up in the hands of dictators have been corrupt and horribly unbalanced. Usually the people whining about the “communist” thrived but did nothing to create economic balance. Poor people in those countries have nothing to lose and everything to gain. At first.

Someone I know once noted: Whether it’s a LEFT-wing/Communist or a RIGHT-wing/Fascist/Capitalist/wot-ever dictatorship, SOME things are the same: Anybody with any brains gets jailed or executed and the media is firmly “regulated.” The bottom line is the “peons” get screwed-over while the “rulers” (whatever they choose to call themselves) live high on the proverbial hog.

Amen! to your entire last paragraph CB! I’m sick of people throwing those terms around (esp. Nazism) whenever they don’t agree with someone’s views. Plus, regardless of his views, it was not the place to go into a debate with him or anyone for that matter. The airport is probably the least likely place you will find someone in a reasonable state of mind.

That’s right Sean when you have nothing intelligent to say, call a woman a “pig” and that ends it. I guess that’s why Robin Wright divorced your ass, you must have called her a “pig” one time too many. What a tool. This guy is a real ***hole, I think homegirl got it right.

I think the complaint would not be so much that he is a communist (if he is) but that he is a rich, elitist communist who drops in on the poor and oppressed and then flies back in a private jet to his mansion to booze it up & plan his next daliance with a Scar-Jo type actress. He is not a social butterfly, he is a socialist-butterfly.

While I believe that Penn may have good intentions, he and Oliver Stone are “MasterCard Marxists,” people that have flourished under capitalism but now that they’re “entrenched” they feel qualified to tell the world how much it (capitalism) is all a bunch o’ hooey.

I’d like to see Penn or Stone live in one of these Socialist Paradises for 6 months, NOT as visiting celebs but incognito, as a just-plain-regular-guy types and THEN come back to the USA and talk about how “wonderful” a system it is.

Btw, almost EVERY political/economic system sounds dandy IN THEORY. Personally, I think socialism sounds good but there hasn’t been many good working models, have there? I mean, Russia, Romania, Cambodia and N. Korea aren’t exactly screaming success stories. Russians went from being oppressed by the Czars (and the Tsars and prob’ly Larry King) to being oppressed (and murdered) by Stalin.

Alonso’s brother assembling an army conspired to create an internal war in the country. She was a junkie with very bad connections who wants to gain fame and working with the Latino community in Miami.

No one who does not live in Venezuela have a say, it’s a complicated situation and there is not a good part and bad part, only two sides. Both sides (the supporters of Chavez and non) have positive and negative things, but the press manipulates everything. Do not believe everything you read.

Alonso said “But if someone calls me a pig, I am not going to turn the other cheek. ”

Uhhhhh….. No one called you a pig until you got in his face in front of a crowd. He told you to leave him alone, but you started up with him for no good reason. If you think you’re that brave & that much of a martyr then go to Venenzuela and tell them to their faces how much you despise them for voting Chavez in.

Venezuela has by law a minimum wage standard set: “The minimum wage is a standard Venezuela uses, being the minimum full time wage that all public and private entities must pay, the amount that pensioners receive, and the method for calculating other wages.”

As of September of this year, it went up from $US 327/month to $US 360/month. Of course, there are jobs that earn more than the minimum wage.

“These wages do not include the food tickets that workers also receive….Food ticket values are independent of wages. A teacher on a minimum wage, for example, typically receives Bs 400 ($US 93) per month worth of food tickets, which can be redeemed in government food outlets and cooperating private supermarkets and shops.”

“The wage increase, without taking into consideration the food tickets, other work benefits and end of year bonuses, or other free services such as health, means that in U.S dollar terms Venezuelans will be receiving the second highest minimum wage in Latin America.

You are right about not buying openly, I NEVER SAID in the open market. My Cuban friend said that is what they could buy WHEN THEY COULD FIND IT ON THE BLACK MARKET. Now, that only makes the whole situation of living sound worse. She abhors communism ans said anyone who says differently, should go live there for a week, you would never say it again

@kristipistol – Your comment: “You are right about not buying openly, I NEVER SAID in the open market. My Cuban friend said that is what they could buy WHEN THEY COULD FIND IT ON THE BLACK MARKET. Now, that only makes the whole situation of living sound worse. She abhors communism ans said anyone who says differently, should go live there for a week, you would never say it again.”
*****
You are confusing Cuba for Venezuela. 2 diff countries.

First Take
Retail sales gained momentum in the third quarter amid a stronger economy. The central bank’s retail sales index (by volume) grew 11.1% y/y in that period, after 7.8% y/y in the second quarter (revised figures). Recently released figures showed that GDP expanded 4.2% y/y in the third quarter, a nice rebound after a weak 2.5% in the second quarter. Private consumption increased 4.2% y/y in the third quarter. Clearly, recent retail sales figures overestimate the real state of overall private consumption. Such apparent contradiction is not uncommon at this stage of the recovery; the robust growth in retail sales is partly the result of a very low comparison base.”

@ Miranda – well said, girl! What’s been going on in America for the last 10 years has NOT been capitalism, it’s been socialism and it doesn’t work now and never has in the past and Europe is a good indicator of that right now!

Pardon for picking here but this isn’t socialism. It’s statism or more directly corporatism.

Obama is not a socialist and if he is, he is a shitty socialist. The socialist model, however much I disagree with the functionality of it, works to move money away from the wealthy to the working class/poor. Obama actively works to move the money back towards the corporations, exactly the same way Bush did. He is no free marketer as another poster says, he is a straight up Statist. His largest financial supporters are bankers.

America is not far from becoming a police state and I will use to the word Fascist because this is Fascism. Obama signed legislation that allows for Americans to be arrested, detained indefinitely, tortured and interrogated on American soil without charge or trial. The bill had 93% support in the Senate.

To that point, I am a free born woman and do not trust any system, specifically communism, that advocates giving additional power to government for any reason.

Both of you are right…bailing out companies like GM is socialism. Other things reek of Statism. Either way, we are quickly moving away from a system that has made us the richest nation on earth. Is it perfect? No. Is there corruption? Yes. Fix the problems. Don’t choose a totally different system that has already failed elsewhere. Take what works best and make it better. Choose the system that allows people to remain as free as possible and to live their lives with as few restrictions as possible.

Every time I see Sean Penn’s hair i think “Dead Squirrel Hunting”. Sean should take a vow of Commie Squirrel Silence and spare us his political views. The rabid squirrel atop his head is making him senile.

Don’t give a shit about Sean Penn’s douchery. The douche got his ass down to New Orleans during Karina, and put in his time and effort searching for people, helping out financially and that’s not even his hometown. He talked talk and walked the walk and as a celebrity, i commend him for that.

And really what’s so bad about Communism. Ideally it’s not a bad thing, I guess. It’s about the people in power and if they’re totalitarians in Communist clothin; forcing people to engage in this way of life while pocketing all the fat of the land for themselves.

I mean we’re a capitalist country and I watched in anger as the police broke up peaceful protest in Philly for this Occupy sit-ins. No government system is perfect. They all have their flaws because people are flawed. Thar’s just how we roll as humans.

Communist should not be an insult, it is a political orientation. Better to chew him out for supporting Chavez, not communism.
Sadly with the world in disarray and a small percentage owning the majority of our riches Capitalist just may one day soon become an insult.

Very well said!! People have such a short attention span that I think they forget that these systems (Capitalism, etc…) are relatively new, all constructed (not ‘natural’) and are still developing. Capitalism is still pretty experimental, at least THIS form in America that is neo-liberal and dismantling the state at every turn. No wonder it’s in disarray.

Just another b!tch looking for trouble. The rest of us don’t just go up to people whose political views differs from our own and insult them for no reason. Penn, despite your opinions about him, was well within his rights to call her a pig.

well, at least Sean Penn hasn’t gotten tweaked-yet. I mean, i shudder when i see photos of him. just now, i tried to avert my eyes while the page loaded, so i could scroll down as quickly as possible from the picture.

then, i thought, hey, he’s not getting surgery or injections, and no nose job! How unusual!

It’s not a “go-to” insult. It’s what people call someone who advocates for actual Communists which we have in the elite parts of this country.

Maria grew up on the run from Communists, and Sean Penn grew up in a wealthy American Hollywood director’s home where Communist sympathizing was a stance of the priveleged. Very Berkeley. Very real.

There’s often an enormous cultural disconnect between people arguing from the ivory tower that other’s are in the streets trying to survive. On a lot of issues. Black people especially have to adjust. Listen to Al Sharpton in front of a lot of rich liberals and he’ll have to give them their commie talk. In front of black audiences he talks about actual, real survival strategies in the home and community.

Sean Penn is arguing an offensive pro dictator point of view from the elitist theoretical point of someone who helicopters into trouble and then back to the mansion. Penn is dangerous to some of us because he helps the oppressors.

Maria survived a lifetime of these regimes which have violently ripped their way across Latin America with radical leftwing support for decades.

What an absolute twat this woman. The term ‘communist’ is not an offensive term. I’d rather like it, in fact, if Penn were a communist, but he clearly isn’t. I’d have probably called her a lot worse than ‘pig’ if she’d dared to approach me in that manner.

Oh, I read the quotes as saying that Penn said ‘she looks really different’, as his reasoning for why he did not know who she was-that he ‘only knew that a woman was berating me’…..

so i dont think it was a ‘well you’re fat’ type of retort. i think he was clarifying. BUT, as others mentioned, if he did tell her that she’s been saying bad things about him, then he did recognize her.
so, liar liar pants on fire. i don’t even know why penn has such a bug up his *ss about venezuela and chavez, anyway….i mean, i can see haiti and katrina work….but why VZ? why not Cuba, and he could really stick it to The Man?

it’s like he just wanted an easy in to be controversial or have influence with a 3rd world leader….for his own reasons….maybe ego or future charity. but it’s perplexing.
then again, it’s probably all over google but i just felt like pontificating today instead of looking it up.
regarding everything called Nazi these days, sadly, my SO has had a decades long joke using that term-someone is being a nazi about their policy, usually something cheesy or not as important as said person thinks it is. It’s actually pretty funny, but now, everyone is using that term, and it’s just not as funny anymore-he sounds trendy, but he’s one of the trendsetters, i guess!

How is ‘communist’ an insult?! It’s failed time and time again as a government system, but that’s due to human error (or that system’s failure to recognise that). Believing in its tenets doesn’t make you the antiChrist… except in the States, I guess. How is it WORSE to think people should be equal than that some should be rich and most should be poor?!

It’s not bad to think people should be equal financially. Unfortunately, it can never be except by force. People like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs became wealthy due to the things their minds and hard work created. I, on the other hand, have not come up with those products or any product that people want to buy. Therefore, I earn money based on the skills I can give to my employer. So should I be a multi-millionaire too? Should they have to share their wealth with me so things are “fair”? I don’t think so. Some of us are great. Some of us are average. Some of us even less so. Our country promises nothing but the freedom to each and every person to seek out what makes them happy and to become great if we can or want to. But to make things equal…you have to take from someone who earned it and give it to someone who didn’t.

Yes, people like Steve Jobs did do creative stuff, but let’s not ignore how far they would never have gotten without the benefits that living in a tax payer funded society gives.

Would Steve Jobs made much of a success in a government-free environment like Somalia? Business can’t function without the rule of law, law enforcement, patent enforcement, education and infrastructure. To pretend that anyone’s success is due to personal ability alone is wrong.

Ummmh, actually I think that Bill Gates became rich by using monopolizing. He created a product and then more or less held the world hostage by making them buy it and paying through their noses while keeping the competition down.It is unbelievable how much everyone still has to pay for Microsoft Office and how this applies to everywhere, even development countries. Just saying….
I agree with Kat here,it’s not up to talent or achievement. Unfortunately most people who are absurdly rich took advantage of someone or something, it is not the Beethovens of this world who are the top 1% earners. If this was the case the richest people should be the ones who invent cancer cures, electricity, symphonies. Heirs, basketballers and bankers would not be eligible. Neither would be the Kuntrashians.

Actually there have been several communist compounds both in Isreal and I believe one in England and none have ever worked. The reason being simple. We are not all equal. Not in the amount of work we are willing to do or can do. Try that method at work where everyone contributes “equaly” but without being policed and see how it’s gonna come down to two people doing it all and four doing shit but wanting the same pay. Communism will always devolve into a corrupt state because it also has no right to property which is necessary for a free state to exist.

I’m sure she behaved badly but the truth is for those of us that have lived in a communist state it’s hard to hear stars talk about how awesome it is or be friends with dictators that have ruined countries and destroyed family. Hard to be all polite then.

1st of all I find labels of any kind to simplistic and lacking in nuance..given recent domestic events I believe it’s best not to condescend or gloat…all are imperfect.
Secondly, while I might not always agree with Sean Penns politics,until I’m prepared to take several extended sabbaticals from my life to assist the truly desperate and needy I will remain in awe of his service.

People really do not have a sense of history but they do have a case of histrionics.

I’ll stay away from the politics.

I was flipping channels the other night and who do I see on that show “Celebrity Ghost Stories” but Ms. Alonso. I didn’t recognize her – one too many injections. Anyway, that show is purely for D-listers and faded stars (your either on your way up or well on your way down). I’ve never seen a top tier star on that show…too woo woo for that crowd.

Hear hear to Alonso for spelling out the truth. He is certainly an beep-hole, and the people that he aligns himself politically with are of the communist entity – blood and soul. Perhaps the champagne socialist types such as Penn, ScarJo and Clooney need to look a little closer at the methods of madness they support and cheerleader for. Need I mention that more than One million innocents (and counting)slaughtered in the name of communism. They died fighting for democracy. So if Alonso got a little wound up at the beep-hole it’s perfectly understandable.

@mainstream:
it still is, and will always be a preferable system to the cruel, oppressive, poverty-inducing tyrannical regime of communism. You cannot even compare the two, to be honest, as capitalism (liked or disliked) is the only thing that works, and communism has never worked in a single country.

People will never be equal, that is just a fact, we all have different talents, gifts and enterprises and to try and cut off everybody down to the same level is complete madness.